How To Treat Your Cousin
by Broken Siren Song
Summary: Astrid and the other villagers are just getting used to the way of the dragons, but what happens when Astrid's cousin flies in for a visit... Trouble stirs, feelings are hurt and lies are told. But why is her cousin really here?


Hey guys. This is my first story on fanfiction, hope you like it!

"Hurry up! She'll be here any minute!" Astrid was running around the village like one of the new born chickens in spring.

"Where's the fire?" Ruffnut asked.

"No fire! Astra's coming! Hurry up with the fish baskets! Let's see what you have…" Astrid took both baskets from Ruff and Tuff and almost tore the lids off to see their contents. "Turbot, salmon, Arctic char, and Icelandic cod…Where's the tuna?" Astrid shrieked.

"Tuna? Are you outta your mind? Do you have any idea how hard it is to catch tuna in winter? We're lucky if we can catch a school of 'em in summer!" Tuff barked.

"Won't eat any fish unless it's tuna… picky eater… worse than Spike…" Astrid mumbled almost to herself. "What else did she say…? Squirrels!" She yelped in delight. "Valkyrie loves squirrels! That's it! No… that's not it! It's winter! They're all in hibernation! SON OF A HALF TROLL!" She cursed out her favourite catch phrase. "Where's Hiccup? She demanded.

"He took Toothless for a ride. I haven't seen him since this morning. Need to keep a tighter leash on your man, Astrid." Tuff laughed. His comedy moment was cut short when Astrid punched him in the nose. Tuff was thrown back wards onto his rear.

"Ow! I am hurt! I am very much hurt!" He scrabbled away.

"Ha, ha!" Ruff laughed after her brother. "Come on, Astrid. We're best friends. You can tell me what's wrong." Ruff offered.

"Huh." Astrid sighed. "It's my cousin: Astra. She's coming to visit me in Berk, and I just want everything to be perfect."

"Why the big fuss?" Ruff laid a hand on her friends shoulder.

"Because I want her to think of Berk as a respectable village. She is the daughter of my uncle after all." She said.

"Who's your uncle?" Ruff asked.

"Chief of Hopeless." Astrid sighed.

"Wow! But if your uncle is a chief, then why aren't you in Hopeless too? Shouldn't you be waiting for your turn?" Ruff pondered.

"No. I'm not next in line. Her brother Magnus is. He's a bit of a…what's the right word…Brute? Then there's her older sister Astrud." Astrid huffed. "That's why she's coming here. To get away from it all. Her dad won't let her do anything to dangerous, so she didn't get to go through dragon training like we did. She doesn't get to go on hunting trips like I do. Despite how good she is at it. She can't go fishing with the other villagers, because my uncle still thinks she can't swim. He doesn't even know she has her own dragon!" Astrid threw her hands up in the air.

"What dragon does she have?" Ruff asked.

"I dunno. From her letters all I know is her dragon's name; Valkyrie." Astrid shuddered.

"Isn't that a little aggressive? To name your dragon after the angel of death is a little…threatening." Ruff twitched.

"Yeah I know. I wondered if her dragon was a night fury. I asked her but she said no. she said that they're too small for her. She said her dragon out sizes a monstrous nightmare!" Astrid grinned.

"Wow. How do you when she's coming?"  
>"She said she'd be here from between super and sundown. So basically, any minute. Oh, gods! She'll be here any minute! Nothing is ready! Are the dragon's stables cleaned? Where's my good skirt? Where's Spike? Where's Hiccup? Argh!" She shrieked as she ran away.<p>

Astrid was re-braiding her hair when loud shouts coming from the village.

"DRAGON! IT'S NOT ONE OF OURS! GET DOWN!" Stoic screamed from outside.

"ARGGHH!" She heard people yell out. Roaring echoed around the small village, making her slap her hands over her ears. That wasn't a Nadder, or Gronkle, Nightmare, Zippleback, Night Fury… She had never heard that cry before. Oh! Maybe it was Astra! Astrid ran down her staircase and outside to see the Vikings surrounding a large black dragon that she had only ever seen in the manual. She gasped at the large black beast that was roaring for all it was worth. Its large body was similar shaped to that of eagle, and only slightly bigger then a Nightmare. His eyes were large and amber coloured with

dilated pupils like a cat. Two thick horns grew out of his head that curved slightly towards his back. A large hook was on either side of his wings with another on his wings. He had two long legs with three large claws. His colours were black all over, with only purple on the underside of his wings. His scales didn't overlap towards his tail like all the others. But instead they went towards his head with sharp looking edges. That was clearly used to help him cut through the trees. Astrid noticed Hiccup in front of the Timberjack trying to calm the huge dragon. Astrid had hoped that this was Astra's dragon, but that thought vanished when she saw that the dragon had no saddle. Much less a rider.

"RROOAARR!" The Timberjack bellowed. It swatted at Hiccup with its large tail. Luckily it missed him, but swiped a house down like a stack of tooth picks.

"TIE IT DOWN! We can't calm it! It's no use!" Spitelout cried. Large ropes were thrown across its back and pegged into the ground. But the dragon snorted and pulled itself free.

"STOP! PLEASE! You're just making her mad." A tall girl ran from the trees towards the large creature. Hiccup had moved towards Astrid so that he wouldn't be swiped at again.  
>"You recognise her? I've never seen her in Berk before." Hiccup puzzled.<p>

"No. I don't know her." Astrid tilted her head.

"STOP! STOP!" The tall girl ran towards the Vikings. At the sound of her voice, the Timberjack snapped its head in her direction and let a roar. The cry was strange. It sounded almost…happy? Relieved?

"STOP! Leave her alone!" The girl waved her arms in the air, trying to get the attention of the other Vikings.

"Stay back girl. This dragon's crazy!" Stoic ordered.

"She's not! She's scared. Oh please leave her alone!" She begged. One of the Vikings pushed past her to help the others, causing the girl to fall to the floor with a winded "Oof!"

The Timberjack snarled in absolute rage and stretch its wings, cutting through the ropes like they were string. The dragon ran towards the girl, snarling and growling.

"Oh, no!" Astrid gasped and covered her eyes.

"Wait! Look." Hiccup pointed towards her. Astrid was stunned at what she saw. Instead of the wild dragon attacking the girl, it nuzzled its great head against the girls' neck. Almost, lovingly. No. It _was_ lovingly.

"Good girl. It's okay. It's okay. Ssh." The girl soothed. "I'm here. You're safe. You're okay."

"You okay?" Stoic asked.

"Fine. You scared my dragon though." She chuckled.

"We scared her? She attacked us!" Ruffnut glared.

"She smelt your food. What are you cooking?" The girl asked.

"It's squirrel and sparrow broth." Spitelout said.

"No wonder. Squirrel's one of her favourites. Besides tuna that is. It's hard to find food for her. She's so picky." The girl patted the side of her dragons head.

"Who are you? You're not from here. I'm the chief here, I would have seen you." Stoic said. Astrid and Hiccup approached closer.

"No. I'm not. But since you're the chief, maybe you can help me. I'm looking for Astrid Hofferson. Is she here?" The tall girl asked. As Astrid approached, she took in the girls' appearance for the first time: her hair was long and blonde like Astrid's, her waist was thin and her legs were slender.

"That's me? Do I know you?" Astrid asked.

"Astrid? It's me. Astra." The girl grinned…

I hope you guys like it. The rating could change, so don't say I didn't warn you

Xxx


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